A Fine Line
by Kylara Kitsune
Summary: There's a fine line between love and hate, as Yuffie once told Tifa. Sometimes, the line gets blurred, and you end up crossing it.


**AN: My entry for the AkuFa club's 1st birthday contest - go check it out on DeviantArt. Nope, I don't own the characters. I made up Axel's last name, but I have a sneaking suspicion I may have seen it used somewhere before. Story is based on prompt 79 from the AkuFa list - "Don't look at me like that".**

Everybody's heard of love at first sight. It's rare, but it is known to happen. So too, is instant hatred. That's precisely what happened with Axel Kazura and Tifa Lockhart, the very first time they laid eyes on each other. Since they were to be working together, they were, at first, scrupulously polite.

"Good morning, Mr Kazura."

"A pleasure, Miss Lockhart. Please, call me Axel."

"I'm Tifa."

Pleased that his two science teachers appeared to be getting along so well, Professor Yen Sid smiled (or rather, showed the expression that was, for him, demonstrating happiness - it was a scowl less severe than his usual). "I'll leave you two here, to get to know each other."

As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, Axel and Tifa turned on each other. "How did a Lockhart manage to get a job here?"

Tifa scowled. Twilight Town was so small that if you'd ever done anything noteworthy or memorable, everybody knew who you were. She just happened to come from the wrong side of town, the rough area that only the residents would dare to enter after dark. The fact that she worked here, at the successful Twilight High, was purely due to her abilities as a teacher, not that Axel would believe it.

"I could ask the same of you, Kazura. You were never exactly known for your intelligence."

"So, the martial artist has a fierce tongue to match." Though he'd never admit it to Tifa, she was right. Axel, having grown up in one of the largest houses in the town, had been far more interested in skipping school, smoking, drinking and generally being a rebellious hellraiser. He figured that it was a direct result of having everything he'd wanted as a child. The only child of rich parents, he'd been, he could now see, a very spoiled brat. After leaving school, though, he'd realised that he needed to do something with his life. Teaching had seemed like a good option at the time.

They both glowered for a minute or so, not interested in flinging childish insults, but unwilling to concede. When the bell rang, indicating the start of a lesson, Axel was the first to turn away.

"Good luck with that class, Kazura. I've heard they're a real handful."

Axel snorted as he left the room. They were just a bunch of schoolkids. How hard could it be?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Only ten minutes later, he had his answer. That class wasn't a handful at all. Oh no, he decided, as he stalked back to the classroom, that description did not do them justice at all. They were more like a pack of rabid animals. Tifa snorted with mirth as he walked through the door. Perhaps he'd been thrown in at the deep end after all. His previously spiked hair now hung in wet strands around his face, and his white shirt was drenched and see-through.

"Don't start, Tifa. Please."

The only reaction was hysterical laughter, as she watched him.

"You wouldn't find it funny if you were the one standing here looking like a drowned rat."

When that didn't have any effect, he sighed and started to look for a towel. Just as he turned to look, one landed on his shoulder. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Tifa's smirk was unrepentant, even though the incident probably wasn't his fault. She knew she'd have to sort out the unruly class, but even so, she couldn't help but find the situation funny. When Axel spotted her expression, he glared.

"Don't look at me like that."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Opening the door to the classroom, Tifa poked her head in. Immediately, everyone fell silent. She had a fearsome reputation, and nobody wanted to find out if it was deserved. Axel had written some work on the board, before his impromptu shower, she was pleased to see.

"You will do the work Mr Kazura has set, and someone will collect it at the end of the lesson. Understand?" A few nods assured her that they did. "That's good. I don't expect to hear any more noise from this classroom."

Closing the door, she waited outside for a few moments to see if they settled down to work or not. As it happened, they did.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Don't look at me like that, Kazura."

Axel stared, open-mouthed. She'd braved the lion's den and not only survived, but triumphed. "How do you do it?"

"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it eventually." She grinned, looking almost evil. Axel couldn't help flinching - he knew that she could easily knock him unconscious, if she wanted.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The days passed, Axel and Tifa taking every opportunity to mock each other's work, fling the insults they'd held back on that fateful first day, and generally make life difficult for each other.

"Why do you bother, Tifa?" Tifa's oldest friend, Yuffie Kisaragi, couldn't understand it. "Surely it's much less effort to just ignore the guy."

"I can't, Yuffie. He's always had everything, and I've worked my backside off all my life. I hate it. I hate him."

"There's a fine line between love and hate, you know."

"Ugh, don't say things like that. Don't even think it."

For the rest of the term, Yuffie's words echoed around Tifa's head. She just couldn't forget them, even though there wasn't a shred of truth in the statement. This had the effect of putting her in a worse mood than usual, prompting a flurry of comments about the unpredictability of female hormones. Eventually, her temper got the better of her, and she followed the example of Axel's very first class. She emptied a bottle of cold water over his head.

"Just give it a rest, will you?"

Wiping the water from his eyes, Axel muttered, "why does this keep happening to me?"

Tifa didn't answer. She wasn't even listening.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Somehow, they managed to avoid each other almost entirely for the rest of the week, until the end of term Christmas party. Neither of them wanted to socialise with the rest of the staff, but it was expected, so they reluctantly put in an appearance. Purely because it was the furthest from Yen Sid, they ended up sitting at the same table.

"You look as thrilled to be here as I am."

Tifa groaned, realising who had spoken. "I'd much prefer to be at home."

Axel handed her a glass. "Here, have some of the vinegar that passes for wine around this place, and cheer up. It'll be over soon."

"Not soon enough for me."

He sank into a vacant chair. "Me neither."

Tifa laughed, harshly. "It's just typical that this would be the first thing we actually agree on." She downed the glass of wine, then launched into a coughing fit. "That stuff really is vile."

"And you're used to drinking fine wines?" Axel paused. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"I'm not going to take offence. Everybody knows I come from the wrong side of town. Actually, my parents owned a bar, so I'm more used to decent alcohol than you might think."

"Owned?"

"Someone set fire to the place one night. Went up in flames like a pile of dry wood. They couldn't get out in time."

"I'm... sorry to hear that."

"Don't look at me as though I need pitying. It was a long time ago."

"What happened to you, after it?"

"I looked after myself, because there was no-one else who could."

The conversation turned to less sensitive topics, and they discovered that although their upbringings had absolutely nothing in common, they actually had similar opinions on a number of subjects. Their previous animosity wasn't mentioned; there was no need. By the end of the party, they couldn't be described as friends, but they were no longer fierce enemies.

"Have a good Christmas, Lockhart."

"You too, Kazura. See you in January."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Predictably, Yuffie gloated upon hearing the story. "I knew it, I just knew it. That's how it always happens in books." She hesitated, thinking deeply. "Though I am disappointed that you didn't leap on each other and rip all your clothes off."

"Yuffie! You have a filthy mind."

Yuffie just grinned. "At least I'm not afraid to admit it, unlike you, Tifa."

"Besides, nothing like that is going to happen."

"Yet. Give it time."

"I refuse to dignify that with a response."

The holiday, as always, passed far too quickly for everybody's liking, and January found them all back at school. Tifa groaned upon seeing her desk - in her absence, a mountain of paperwork had appeared. She'd just sat down to make a start on it when Axel arrived, weighed down by an enormous box of exercise books. He dropped it on the floor with a loud thud, and Tifa raised one eyebrow questioningly.

"I was under the impression that the last two weeks were supposed to have been a holiday. I ended up doing more work than I've ever done."

"You didn't mark a single book all last term. What did you expect?"

He shrugged. It's all done, anyway."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

By lunchtime, Tifa was thoroughly fed up. "I'm drowning in paperwork! Help me! The stuff's multiplying!"

Someone removed her pen from her clenched fingers, and carefully lifted her to her feet. "You've been doing that all morning. You need a break. I'm taking you to get some lunch."

The kids were baffled to see Axel Kazura leading Tifa Lockhart out of the school and helping her into his car. The rivalry between them had been incredibly public - you'd have to be both blind and deaf to have missed it.

"Perhaps he drugged her." "Perhaps she's gone mad."

Possible reasons were suggested for this sudden change of heart - the entire school was intrigued. Meanwhile, Tifa slowly emerged from her stupor, realising where she was and who she was with.

"Axel, we're not dressed right for such a fancy restaurant. Besides, we don't have the time."

"Of course we have the time - neither of us has to teach a lesson for a couple of hours."

"But the clothes..."

"They don't matter. It'll be fine."

The waitress led them to a table and handed them the menus. Tifa gasped in shock when she saw the prices. "Axel, don't be daft, it's too much."

"Relax, Tifa. This one's on me. You needed a break."

"But... but..." She shook her head, trying to make sense of the situation. The meal, when it arrived, was just as elaborate as she'd expected, and she started worrying again.

"Tifa, I come here all the time. I'm not worried about it, so you don't need to be either."

The rest of their lunch break felt awkward, conversation was stilted. Axel cursed his stupidity in taking her there, while Tifa tried to calm down. It was almost a relief when they were back at the school, occupied with work once more.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Nothing else happened for months. The aggressive behaviour between them slipped into easy cameraderie, with good-natured taunts commonly heard. It came as a relief to the rest of the staff, who had been slightly worried that the school itself would not survive their feud. Everything was going far too well - something must surely be about to happen. And then came sports day...

It was customary for the staff (at least, those young enough and fit enough) to participate. Axel and Tifa found themselves next to each other on the starting line of one of the races. The pupils watched with anticipation, waiting to see which of them would triumph.

"Ready, set, go!"

One moment, they were tearing round the track, and the next, they were in a tangled heap on the floor. Nobody could be certain what had happened, as they waited for the pair to get to their feet.

"You ok, Tifa?"

"I don't think anything's broken, if that's what you mean. I'm going to have some bruises though. How about you?"

"Apart from your elbow ramming my stomach, I'm fine."

"Oh, sorry about that." She moved, tentatively, in case they injured themselves further. That had the effect of bringing Axel's face directly in line with hers. Those bright green eyes (why had she never noticed the colour befoe?" were glittering in a way she hadn't expected. Neither was it entirely unwelcome.

"Don't look at me like that, Axel."

"Like what, Tifa?" She felt as though those emerald eyes could see past all of her defences, see what she was really thinking.

"Like... like you want me."

"But I do." She barely heard the words before his lips brushed hers, and she felt herself responding. She wasn't thinking - she couldn't think. She was vaguely aware of a crowd cheering in the distance, but paid it no attention. When they clambered back to their feet, she realised that the entire school had been watching them, and blushed. Axel slid one arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"Ignore the lot of them. We're leaving."

**AN: Phew. Longest thing I've written for ages. So, that's it, my first contest entry. Read and review, even if it's just to tell me what I could improve on.**


End file.
